Noiseless railroad crossing



F. P. YEOMANS.

NOISELESS RAILROAD CROSSING. APPlicATxoN FILED ocT. 29. 1921.

1,407,778 Patented Feb. 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F. P. YEOMANS.

NolsELEss RAILROAD CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29| 1921.

Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

35% kmp L.

UNITED kS'TATES PATENT QEFIQE.

NOSELESS RAILROAD GROSSING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rat-euren Feb. es, 1922.

Application filed October 29, 1921. -Seria1 No. 511,306.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRAN ii inrirnnr Yeo- MANS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improrei'nents inNoiseless Railroad Crossings, ot which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in railroad crossings, and moreparticularly to that type oit crossing known as a continuous rai]crossing or noiseless crossing.

A n object of the invention is to provide a suitable railroad crossingwhich will entirely eliminate the noise that iscustoinarily heard in theusual type ot crossings. i

Another obj ect ofthe invention is to provide a railroad crossing whichwill not only noiseless, but will also be so constructed as to make aderailment impossible.

fk 'further object is to provide a railroad crossing which will benoiseless. and will also be automatic in operation,` being` operated bythe trains as they come from either direction. i

still further object is to provide a suitable noiseless railroadcrossing, which will be e'IHcient in operation and inexpensive tomanufacture.ly

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds. Y

In the accompanying drawings which form a part ot my application:

Figure 1 is a planjview oil my improved noiseless railroad crossingwithy the L-shaped inner rails.

Figure 2 is a sectional view line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the slotted guard rails which arepositioned between the main crossing rails.

Figure 4C is a pla-n View of the crossing with straight inner railsinstead of L-shaped rails, and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. t.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the several views todesignate corresponding parts.

The main rails 1 of the crossing are preterahly formed in L-shape,having their adjacent ends welded together, or formed integrally whenmolded, although they may be composed of separate rails.

The main rails 1 are fastened to the ties taken on the 2. and have aportion of the inner bottoni fiange' or' the rails cut away as at 3.Positioned at either side ot the main rails 1. are the L-shapedinnerfrails 4l, in Fig. 1 or straight rails in Fig. el, whose adjacentends 5 are cut oit diagonallyg'to permit of lateral movement. i

The main rails l and rails a, are separated by the guard rails 6, whichare notched as at 7, as best shown in Figure 3. These guard rails G areplaced in pairs,l and the rail next to the main rails l is ofconsiderably lighter stock or material than the guard rail adjacent theinner rails.

Extending through the webs of each of the main rails 1, are the slots 8,likewise through the guard rails and inner rails, the several slotsbeing in 'alinement Vto permit the bolts 9 to pass therethrough. Thesebolts E) are fixed to the web portion ot the inner rails 4, and areadapted to receive the tensioning springs 10 over their tree ends.

which are held in proper positionor adjust# ment, by means of the nuts11. The outer ends of' the guard rails 6v are bent outward as at 12,adjacent the cut away portion 3 in the main rails 1, sothat the {ianges15 ot the car wheels 16, will'more readily separate the said guardrails, and,k run or pass there between. f

`The inode of operation of my improved noiseless crossing isa-srfollows: Assuming that the several parts are intheir proper positions,that is, the'main rails 1 are iixed tothe ties, and the inner rails andguard rails are held adjacent said main rails, by means of the bolts 9and springs 10. The liange of the wheels will first strike the outwardlydared ends 12 oi the rails V6, which causes the guard rails to spread orseparate, thereby permitting the anges of the wheels to ride in betweenthe said guard rails. The inner rails will be forced towards each other,due to the overlapping of their adjacent p0rtions, against the tensionof the springs 10 on the bolts 9. The flanges of the wheels will passthrough the slots 7 in the guard rails, whether the train is on eithertrack,

and the bases of the wheels willride on the main rails 1 and theadjacent guard rail. As soon 'as the train passes over the crossing, theflanges of the wheels will ride out from between the guard rails, andthe tension of the springs 10, will cause the several parts to return totheir original position. Inasmuch as there are continuous rails at thecrossings, and there are no gaps to bridge,

there will be absolutely no chance or danger of a train becoming'derailed;

lfn practically all railroad crossings in use today, the corners ot' therails are soon worn oit, and the crossings have to be replaced orrepaired, wiereas in my improved crossing, there is always a continuousrail for each wheel, consequently eliminating the wear until it is atits minimum.

tion may be resorted to without departurev from the spirit of theinvention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent oi the United Statesis:

l. A noiseless railroad crossing` comprising' a. plurality of Lshapedinner rails interposed between said main rails,'a. plurality of notchedguard rails between said main and inner rails`r andresilient means forholding the several parts in operative position.

2. A noiseless railroad crossingcomprisino; a plurality ofL-shapedmain-traclr rails7 a plurality of L-shaped inner railsinterposed between Asaid main rails7 a plurality of notched guard railsbetween said main and innerY rails, all of said rails being providedwith registering slots, bolts passing through said slots, andmeansrcarried by said bolts for adjusting; the tension between theseveral parts.

3. A noiseless railroad crossing comprising a plurality of L-shapedmaintrack rails,

L-shaped e rails interposed therebetween, a plurality ot guard rails7resilient means 'for holding theeseveral parts in operative position,means for adjusting` the tension of said resilient means, and means forguiding a wheel flange in between said guard rails.

a. A continuous railroad crossing coinprising continuous L-shaped mainrails in fixed position, inner rails adjacent said main rails. guardrails disposed between said main and inner rails, and resilient meansfor holdingr` the same inoperative position.

`5. A continuous and noiseless railroad crossing comprising a pluralityof continuous L-shaped main rails` inner rails interposed therebetween,notched guard rails adjacent said main rails, flared ends on alternativeguard rails, and adjustable resilient means foi-holdingr the severalparts in operative position.

6. continuous and noiseless railroad crossing comprising a plurality ofL-shaped main rails laterally adjustable inner rails, laterallyyadjustable tfruard rails interposed betweensaid main and inner rails,all of said rails beingprovided with alined notches, means extending`through said notches for holding the same in position, and resilientmeans-carried by said last mentionedmeans for tensioning the parts asdesire y 7. A continuous and noiseless railroad crossing comprisingangular main rails, means for holding said lrails in fixed position,interposed inner rail sections, a guard rail or rails interposed`between said main and inner rails, means for causing lateral movementoi one of said guard railsand the innerv rail when a wheel flange passeson the crossing', and resilient means for retracting the several partsinto their original position when the wheelis oil? the crossing,Vsubstantially as described. U

.ln testimony whereofl atiix my signature.

FRANK PLIMLEY YnoMANs.

